What’s the appeal of rooftop restaurants? Their unrestrained views, naturally. And you’ve got to love their dismissive attitude toward weather protection — They’re the open-car roadsters of the food world! With 70-degree summer temperatures anyway, San Diego can forget about earthbound, indoor spots and eat outside with some altitude.

Located atop an office building, this sophisticated stilt walker has trained some of San Diego’s top culinarians and continues to demonstrate chef Stéphane Voitzwinkler’s poise. Indoors you can have his $65 four-course tasting menu. On the outdoor patio rimming the restaurant, see what his Prime Brandt Farm Rib Eye Two Ways is about. Happy hour outside is from 2:30 to 6 p.m. weekdays, with fare like lobster bisque and ahi tuna burgers. And where else can we hoi polloi take in a Sazerac and citywide Fourth of July fireworks all at once? Uh-oh, San Diego: Mister A’s dress code says no shorts and flip-flops.

The second floor of Davina’s feels like an unsanctioned rooftop party on the verge of being shut down. Which is to say it’s very fun. With a taco-obliging “Mexican” menu, Pancho Rita super drinks (goblets of margaritas swallowing upturned Corona bottles), and a gleeful assortment of tattooed regulars, it’s a gritty-great open-air experience. Get a table with a fire pit in its center. Cast an eye toward the Pacific in the visible distance. Beware the excesses of a two-for-one happy hour, daily from 4 to 7 p.m.

Sea mist and sun naturally attract you to this contemporary perch above La Jolla Cove. But it’s chef Trey Foshee’s loving, farm-sourced take on California cuisine that makes you want to commit. For roof dining, the chef offers his much-praised grilled fish tacos, sesame-crusted “tombo” (albacore tuna), Niman Ranch pork Milanese and more. The George’s concept is three levels total. The rooftop scene teeters between tourists and locals. The bar patrons up there are social. A $15 food-purchase minimum weeds out the miserly. Of note: The 36-foot-tall mural by famed homegrown artist John Baldessari, hanging right there in full view.

Level 9 feels so personal. It’s a practically undiscovered lounge. And, with just six seating areas, it’s not much bigger than a terrace on an exquisite townhouse. Up here, you can peer into Petco Park and snuggle by heated-rock fire pits. Drinks like the signature Blue Indigo martini come in clear plastic cups! Noshes include calamari, signature Indigo burgers, margherita flatbreads and skirt steak salads.

You can have chef Christian Graves’ polished Euro-peasant menu in the first-floor restaurant, Jsix. But consider what it’s like eating the exact same house-made charcuterie, braised octopus or pappardelle pasta with oxtail ragout — a rich stew — while doing some poolside people watching. (Only hotel guests can swim in said rooftop pool.) LoungeSix has tall tables and a bar, all first-come, first-served seating. Consider reserving a pillow-studded cabana: It requires a food-and-bev minimum expense in the mid-$300s.